The Kafala System in the Persian Gulf States – Worker Protection or Slavery in the 21st Century? Outline of the Issues

The human rights protection system in the Middle East, especially in the Persian Gulf states, is often discussed in the literature in the context of women’s rights or the use of torture and the death penalty. An important topic related to human rights in the modern world is the kafala system, which has been operating in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, i.e., Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Jordan for years. The states have perceived it as a system of foreign worker protection. According to the latest data, it is estimated that 25 million migrants live and work in the GCC countries, 70% of the Gulf Cooperation Council workforce consists of migrant workers, and 49% of the total GCC population are migrants. The kafala system determines the dependence between a foreign employee and an Arab employer, which is often associated with the emergence of various types of violations of employee rights and threats to their lives and health.

In the first years after World War II, the effects of the war were eliminated, industry was nationalized, agriculture was collectivized, and annexed areas were merged with the rest of the country. In Lower Silesia, the Polish authorities wanted to implement a development plan. To this end, it was necessary to launch and develop industrial and agricultural production and to prepare means of transport and communication. The task was difficult because the new terrain required solving the problems of social issues, ordering and activating industry and taking initiatives in the area of educational and cultural life. The establishment of enterprises and industrial plants in Lower Silesia was associated with the preparation of an educational and cultural offer for employees, which took the following forms: libraries, common rooms, reading rooms and dance, theater, music, ballet and company orchestras. An important role in the above activities was played by the media: newsreel and Lower Silesian press. They published information about the initiatives of the management of workplaces in the direction of promoting the activity of spending free time by workers and the creation of new places for the development of interests and opportunities for innovative activities. The economic development of the Recovered Territories after the war took place in complex political and social conditions. The problem was the post-war chaos and the limited possibilities of the state, which did not have adequate financial and material resources that had to be allocated for reconstruction. The aim of this article is to present educational initiatives in factories and plants in Lower Silesia after World War II. Drawing attention to the implementation of ideological and political assumptions through the prism of cultural activities with the use of local press.